Düsseldorf, 19. November 2010. Essanelle Hair Group AG generated sales revenues of EUR 94 million in the first nine months of the 2010 financial year, which is 1.6 per cent below the EUR 95.5 million reported in the previous year. The lower figures are still due to the moderate performance of the retail sector, as well as the continually weak department store environment.

CEO of Essanelle Hair Group AG, Achim Mansen, said: "Our sales performance has been affected not only by a weak external environment, in particular that of department stores, but also by the numerous salon closures during the previous year, which prevented a net growth in the number of our salons in 2009. But with nearly 40 new openings so far in 2010, we are now back on the right track."

Of the individual salon concepts, HairExpress achieved the biggest growth with an increase of 11.1 per cent to EUR 26.3 million (previous year EUR 23.7 million). Super Cut recorded a slight increase of 2.8 per cent in comparison to the corresponding period in the previous year, from EUR 15.2 to 15.6 million. The essanelle Ihr Friseur concept, that registered 13 salon closures in comparison to the previous year, recorded sales of EUR 43.3 million, compared to last year's EUR 47.7 million (-9.2 per cent). The TOP TEN brand had a turnover of EUR 3.8 million, after EUR 4.0 million last year. The Beauty Hair Shops, that specialise in exclusive hair care products, generated sales of EUR 4.9 million, on par with last year's figures.

Sales revenue below level of previous year

As expected, the trend in sales also affected the profitability of the Essanelle Hair Group AG. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) fell from EUR 7.2 to 5.9 million year-on-year. Earnings before taxes (EBT) for the first nine months of 2010 were EUR 1.8 million, compared to EUR 2.9 million in the previous year. Earnings per share were registered at EUR 0.24, from EUR 0.37 in the previous year.

To this, Mansen said: "In light of earlier developments, we expect end-of-year sales for 2010 to be between EUR 127 and 128 million. We anticipate earnings before tax in the range of EUR 4.5 and 5 million."

Kontakt:
Haubrok Investor Relations
Michael Müller
+49-21 56-49 65 195
M.Mueller@haubrok.de